Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Apocalypso by Robert Rankin

First sentence:

"Porrig was lying in the gutter, but he wasn't looking at the stars."

Description:

"The Ministry of Serendipity at Mornington Crescent runs everything. And that means everything. When the Ministry learns of a spacecraft that crashed four thousand years ago into the Pacific Ocean it sends an elite team of paranormal investigators to recover it. A mad alien thaws out, there is hell and horror all around and thousands flee in terror.

Porrig has inherited a planet, or it might be a bookshop, or it might be a gateway into another world. And Porrig is worried, because he has learned a terrible secret. But if he told people, would they listen? No.

But perhaps they should, because a mad alien has thawed out, there is hell and horror all around and thousands are fleeing in terror. And there is every likelihood of there being a bloody big explosion at the end. Will Porrig manage to do anything about it at all?" -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

While this rather strange and quirky book made me chuckle at times, I felt that it could have used some trimming here and there. In particular, some types of jokes, while funny, were overused from time to time. Still, I liked the story of the put-upon Porrig learning about other worlds and creatures and finding the courage to save this world.